The nursing home industry is responsible for housing more than 1.3 million people in America. For such a large and important industry, it has gone without significant scrutiny for some time – and the pandemic exposed many of its weaknesses. Utah nursing home neglect, and similar neglect in every state, have come into the spotlight. Nursing homes became some of the deadliest places to live in the country during the pandemic, even homes that were not engaging in negligence or deliberate neglect.
Now, these organizations are scrambling to find the safest way to move forward in a world where COVID-19 seems here to stay.
Avoiding Utah Nursing Home Neglect After the Pandemic
There are multiple things that nursing homes in Utah and throughout the country need to do to keep residents safe from COVID-19 and nursing home neglect in general. These include:
1. Make environments in nursing homes healthier.
It’s an unfortunate reality that many nursing home residents are forced to live in conditions none of us would choose for ourselves. Shared toilets, showers, rooms, and other items all create opportunities for residents to transfer infections between each other. The pandemic has shown us how dangerous disease outbreaks can be. These facilities should be better designed to protect residents from such outbreaks.
2. Pay staff more and demand better performance from them.
Nursing home staff are often significantly underpaid and undertrained. While that doesn’t excuse Utah nursing home neglect and other abuse, it is an obvious area for improvement. If nursing homes paid staff better they could attract more conscientious individuals. They could also require more skilled applicants and demand more of them once hired.
3. Adhere strictly to safety standards.
Government regulators, both federal and state, should be doing more to make certain existing standards are met by nursing homes. However, even if regulators are lax in doing their jobs, it doesn’t mean nursing homes should give up on adhering to safety standards.
Nursing homes are well aware of the safety regulations that dictate how they operate. The staff may or may not be, but the administrators certainly are. Increased public scrutiny will likely put pressure on regulators. The smart move for nursing homes to make is to get ahead of that scrutiny and start meeting regulatory requirements immediately.
Taking Legal Action to Deter Utah Nursing Home Neglect
Every party must do its part to protect nursing home residents from neglect. At Carlson Injury, we strive to deter nursing home neglect and nursing home abuse by holding negligent parties accountable.
If neglect or abuse caused your loved one injury in a nursing home, we urge you to get in touch. Our personal injury attorney will listen to the details of your situation and help you understand your legal options. If it makes sense to do so, our firm will help you pursue legal action.
Please call us today at (801) 845-4577 or complete our online contact form. We are glad to answer your questions at no cost to you.